No convictions sought against Air France, Airbus over Rio-Paris crash

French prosecutors in the case against Air France and Airbus over the 2009 crash of a Rio-Paris flight that killed all 228 people on board said they were unable to prove the companies were guilty of involuntary manslaughter, which infuriated victims’ families.

Courtroom sketch of Air France CEO Anne Rigail, right, and Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, left, during the first day of the trial of Airbus and Air France at the Paris courthouse, in Paris, 10 October 2022. © Cynthia Walsh/AP

After eight weeks in a Paris court, prosecutors on Wednesday said they could not recommend a guilty verdict for the two companies, which have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Their guilt "appears to us to be impossible to prove," prosecutor Pierre Arnaudin told the court, adding, "we know that this view will most likely be difficult to hear for the civil plaintiffs, but we are not in a position to ask for the conviction of Air France and Airbus.”

The trial opened in October to determine the responsibility of the two companies for the crash of flight AF447 on 1 June 2009, which remains the worst aviation disaster in Air France's history

• Black box recording of deadly Rio-Paris flight to be played in court

The case has focused on a technical malfunction on the Airbus A330, which victims’ families have said the companies were aware of. But the companies said the main cause of the crash was pilot error.

Both Air France and Airbus have denied the involuntary manslaughter charges that carry a fine of up to 225,000 euros.

Prosecutors had previously dropped charges against the companies in 2019, and a Paris appeals court overturned the decision in 2021, ordering the trial to go ahead.

Victims’ families were angry at the prosecutors’ decision in 2019, and again infuriated by Wednesday’s decision.

"We have a prosecutor who is supposed to defend the people who in the end is defending the multinational Airbus," Daniele Lamy, the head of the Entraide et Solidarite AF447 victims’ association, told reporters on Wednesday, denouncing a "trial skewed against the pilots".

The three-person team of judges overseeing the trial does not have to follow the prosecutor’s advice, but the move will weigh on their decision.

(with AFP)